Meet & Greet Aleta Wills

Let me introduce Aleta Wills to our Dolly Community!

What was your favorite Doll, Toy, Blankie as a child?

A stuffie bear with plastic face and hands and he sucked his thumb. I was devasted when my little sisters were fighting and ripped an arm off - that my Grandma thankfully sewed back on. And now he sits in my craft room.

What do you do, e.g. Crafter, Doll Maker, Super Mommy, Home School Teacher
All of the above! LOL! I am a Mommy of four girls who sews, crochets, scrabooks, crafts in general, and homeschools.

I am a military wife stationed up in North Pole, Alaska. My 7 and 5 year old helped me make a doll, and then my 7 year old decided she wanted to make another one - and then I decided they were too fun and cute that I made one more (the boy). Link to blog - Aleta's Art

Thanks Aleta! It's a pleasure to meet you!

Happy Sewing!

If you would like to take part in the Dolly Fans, Meet & Greet posts Click here for details!

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This Weeks Dollies! Wow we have done well!!

Carla (USA) made these fashionable little girls (along with three boys)!  "I had so much fun with their hairstyles. I used pompoms for the pink and yellow haired girls' "puffs" and a fun mix of yarn for the purple haired girl's ponytail."   For more photos and her post on these little cuties please see her blog, The Scientific Seamstress

Poppy became a super dolly making star with 21 dollies!! We can all appreciate just how busy she's been! Each has a lovely hand embroidered smiley friendly face, just fabulous!

I just adore Melinda little girls, with their long white socks and sweet 1920's style hair clips! She told me:
" ....(I) .... had so much fun and extra material that I am making two more girls and two boys. " 
Brilliant, thanks so much Melinda!

Suzy's (UK) sweet family of four all have matching hats, outfits and pretty painted faces!

Arvida's sweet girl, 'libby' with her wavy locks and fabulous dress looks so cuddly!

"Such a nice way for us crafters to help." say's Joy (UK) on her blog Perfect Little World She's shipping off these three little sweetie pies as I type!  ...... and look they have shoes!!



Here is Rosie's (UK) sweet little dolly.  I love shoes!!! (Ok would someone please make a pairs for my girl dollies i'm running out of time!!! hahaha)

And let's not forget the boys!!!!  Agnes (USA) made yet another dolly and i think he's a very handsome chap! (My mum always said if he makes you laugh then he's a keeper, and this little man looks very happy indeed!)

And last but not least, meet Stephanie's little purple princess!

(Alas her camera over her dollies soft face and it's come out pink)

 "Oops . . . are those legs where the arms should be?" Twelve Crafts Before Christmas
Sorry ladies, I couldn't resit!

Well done everyone! Happy Sewing!

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Something to Brighten Up the Haiti Orphanage: A Dolly Mural!

I thought I would surprise the orphanage with a Hanging Haiti ‘We Love You!’ (On Vous Aime) Dolly Mural! Being an artist I couldn’t imagine my home without paintings on the walls to brighten up the place …. make it cozy …. make it mine. But canvas and paint can be so easily damaged. I wanted to give the orphanage something that could be taken with them if they ever had to move … something I could make from what I had in my home…..

Now I’m a real newbie when it comes to fabric murals, my weapon of choice is a paintbrush so please, be gentle with me!

I take my hat off to all the quilters out there…. This is soooo much harder than it looks! If you haven’t tried this kind of thing before, you should, its fabulous fun! You can make things 3d (like my trees and dollies!) and add texture ooowww I enjoyed it, but boy did I learn a lot of what NOT to do!!! (and no, I didn’t have a book or pattern to follow…. Silly Sarah!)

So with that said I have decided not to kid myself and write a tutorial on how I made this, because I’d never make it this way again! Talk about taking the long way round! If I have some time, I will make a mini hanging (it has fabric loops along the top!)  Haiti mural and I promise to do a tutorial with that one :) – minus my mistakes!

I signed it from us all in the Dolly Donations community! As I keep saying, I couldn’t do this alone! So thank you all for making this possible!

Hope you like my first ever fabric hanging Dolly Mural!

Happy Sewing!

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Guelph Home School Group: 37 Gifts of Love, Sewn into Dolls!

Thank you so much to Karen and her friends in the Guelph Home School Group (Canada) for making such wonderful Dollies ... and so many!

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"As soon as I saw (Dolly Donations Blog), I knew I'd be making dolls for an orphanage in Haiti. And so I mentioned it to a few friends. And those friends inspired and overwhelmed me with their willingness to create and to give.

This week, just about every time we saw friends, I was handed bags with small gifts of love, gently sewn into rag dolls. And this weekend we are sending out 37 dolls to the Abundant Ground Foundation who will deliver them to Haiti and into the hands of the children they were made for. The gifts are both humble and profound, made by children sitting on the laps of adults as they sew and stuff, or by mamas who tucked their own children into bed and then stitched together some hope and love for children living a world away. As I embroidered smiles on small brown faces to make friends for children I will never meet, I was thinking that what all of us really want is to make their world right, with a mother to tuck them in safely and sing them to sleep. The dolls are a small substitute for that love but hopefully they will bring some smiles and comfort into the world of those children."

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Please visit Karen's Blog, Raising Global Citizens.

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Meet & Greet Vonnie Sandlan

Let me introduce Vonnie Sandlan to our Dolly Community! She’s the first to take part in my Pay it Fwd Idea!

What was your favorite Doll, Toy, Blankie as a child?

Actually I was more of a book kind of girl! I adored a beautifully illustrated copy of The Owl and The Pussycat that I had as a youngster but misplaced between being a tiddler and being a Mummy!

What do you do?
My 'day job' is working as a manager in the Civil Service but I'm about to strike it solo with my husband Bob (http://www.theapochrypha.co.uk/) to open our own shop.

Tell us a bit about yourself!
Well, I started knitting and sewing sat at my Nana's knee. As the eldest of seven grandchildren I had a special place in my Nana's heart particularly since her only daughter wasn't really a fan of the 'traditional' crafts that she'd honed and my affection for yarn started as a 3 year old who used to fill an old Pepsi icebucket with scraps of leftover wool that I'd cut into little sections and make pompoms with. I remember with comfort all the fabulous hand-knitted jumpers that I sported as a child of the 80s and wish I had appreciated it that little bit more. I now have four children of my own who I hope will be keen to follow in my crafty footsteps! I am also being gently encouraged to make a doll or two for Haiti, and that is my goal for this week!      

 http://www.blottedcopybook.co.uk/

 

Thanks Vonnie!  It's a pleasure to meet you!

  Happy Sewing!

If you would like to take part in the Dolly Fans, Meet & Greet posts Click here for details!

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New Blog Look and Meet Dolly Donations Sponsors!

I’m sure you have all noticed that I have spruced up the blog page! Not only do I have a ‘Your Dolly Spot’ on the right-hand side bar for all of your dolly photos, meet & greet and links to your blogs ........

........ but we have 2 Sponsors! Which is fabulous, as 100% of all funds go towards making dolls for orphan children (or children in need). Both Craft Bits - The Place Creative People Visit - and Craft Gossip - For The Latest Craft News – are wonderfully informative sites and great meeting places for crafters. I highly recommend them, and they are chock full of free patterns and tutorial links!  And guess what .... we've already been featured on there twice!

I’d like to say a special Thank You to the very talented dolly maker and all round crafter Jhoanna from One Red Robin for submitting her Dolly Donations blog post to them (and all her support!) ........... without her they wouldn’t have found me!

Thanks Everyone, and Happy Sewing!

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Paying It Forward: Help Me, Help You!

 
I’m all about paying it forward, and I have wanted to write blog posts on all of you and your efforts to make and/or spread the word about Dolly Donations. But it’s just little old me on this end….…..and time just seems to disappear!  Not to be defeated I came up with a plan.
 

What was the saying in Jerry Maguire: Help Me, Help You!

Answer a few simple questions, send them to me in an e-mail, attach a photo or two and a link to your blog/website and I’ll post your very own ‘Meet & Greet’ blog here on Dolly Donations!  And/or you can always let me re:blog a post you’ve written about your Dolly Donations experience (here's a brilliant example!)  This way we get to know who is in our fabulous Dolly community!

Here’s what I’ll need from you:

• Your name.
• A photo: you or your creations.
• What was your favorite Doll, Toy, Blankie as a child.
• What do you do, e.g. Crafter, Doll Maker, Super Mommy, Home School Teacher, etc .
• A small bio– and if you like, how you have helped Dolly Donations.
• Link to your website/blog if you have one.

This is open to everyone who has added a dolly donations button, written a blog and/or made a dolly!

Ok I’ll get the ball rolling....

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I’m Sarah.  My favorite dolly was a rag doll named Holly Hobby.

I was born in the UK, but moved to the US about 10 years ago …. Wow has it really been that long?! I’m a very lucky stay at home Mummy (UK spelling but I do make a lot of typos due to sleep deprivation) with a passion for sewing! I’m an artist, love acrylics …. You can see some of my work here SarahLHanson.com

I’m the lady behind Dolly Donations, a dream to help underprivileged children around the world, and now thanks to all of you and your help, a reality! We are All Sending Love, 1 Dolly at a Time!!

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Ok now it’s your turn :)

Enjoy, and let’s see who’s the first to send in their Meet & Greet bio page!

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